Tools from pawn shop

[easternnc4me]

Stopped by a pawn shop in Greenville yesterday and picked all of these up for $35. S-K, Proto, Blue Hawk, Craftsman, Gearwrench, Kobalt and Husky. Going to clean up those that need cleaning and relube the ratchets.

 

[beamernc]

Nice haul.

 

[LizardKing]

Nice pick! Pawn shops and flea markets are great places for tools.

 

[NCFubar]

Damn, couldn’t even find a 10mm socket in the pawn shop?


Sad to say but this shows just where our country is heading … the average person doesn’t care to own a decent set of tools anymore. They call “a guy” to fix whatever’s wrong rather than handl it their self. The male testosterone level takes another hit …


ETA … use to when you had to go to yard sales with your wife you always watched for Craftsman tools … if they were in rough shape or even broken back then you just took them back to a Sears for replacement … man I miss those days.

 

[DrScaryGuy]

niiice. most have lifetime warranties, so you can trade them in for modern chinesium replacements

i was at a pawn shop shutting down a while back and i got a craftsman commercial 10-150ftlb torque wrench. looks like it was only used once. still in the plastic case with the manual that gave torque specs for parts from trucks, tractors, engines, etc. $17
i figured it was worth the buy. it has still only been used maybe that once before me...

 

[NCLivingBrit]

Nice. Most of them are probably stolen, but good price lol

 

[Scsmith42]

Great score!

An ultrasonic cleaner with the appropriate solution will do an outstanding job of making those look as new as possible.

 

[Grits]

Great score!

An ultrasonic cleaner with the appropriate solution will do an outstanding job of making those look as new as possible.

A bath in Evap-o-rust will do wonders for them too.

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[The War Wagon]

Had a GREAT pawn shop on the main hwy about a mile from me for many years - had BINS full of quality hand tools, wrenches, sockets and the like. Sure was nice to be able to buy a (singular) 11/32nds box end, as opposed to a whole 148 piece Craftsman set from Sears! Sadly, they closed about 3 years ago.

SHOPPING at pawn shops in general, is great - they LOVE folks who BUY, and they're always willing to make deals if you're a regular. The down-side being, I knew guys who WOULDN'T shop there, because there were always stories (some WERE probably true), of crackheads pawning stuff they stole off construction sites.

 

[easternnc4me]

Nice pick! Pawn shops and flea markets are great places for tools.

Some pawn shops are. Wife and I rode over to Greenville. I stopped at two more pawn shops. First one really didn't have anything regarding hand tools. Second one is literally a few blocks down from where I bought the tools from yesterday. Craftsman wrenches ranging in price from $2-$5. Ratchets $6-$8. Saw the prices and left.

Damn, couldn’t even find a 10mm socket in the pawn shop?


Sad to say but this shows just where our country is heading … the average person doesn’t care to own a decent set of tools anymore. They call “a guy” to fix whatever’s wrong rather than handl it their self. The male testosterone level takes another hit …


ETA … use to when you had to go to yard sales with your wife you always watched for Craftsman tools … if they were in rough shape or even broken back then you just took them back to a Sears for replacement … man I miss those days.

Didn't look at the sockets while I was there. Will be doing that next time I stop in. When Lowes started selling Craftsman they would exchange them without question. I exchanged a heavily pitted 1/2" ratchet for a new chinesium one. Bad thing is the new ones are not repairable. You can still buy repair kits off of Ebay for the old ones. I have several times. Then they said it had to be the same model number. As if Craftsman tools made in China will have the same model number as ones from years ago.Not only that, once you carry a tool back to exchange it you get put in their system. Next time you try to exchange another one it can be a hassle as the system will show you have exchanged before. Um, yeah. People bought those tools because it had a LIFETIME WARRANTY. Stanley is was going to bring production back to the states (build a plant in Texas if I remember correctly). Maybe it will get better.

A bath in Evap-o-rust will do wonders for them too.

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I soak 'em in white vinegar for a while. 0000 wool them then use alcohol to clean them off and put them back together. If the rust is real stubborn then they go in Evap-O-Rust. I then put a light coat of Fluid film on them before putting them up. I cleaned the ones with rust off this afternoon using white vinegar. Wish I had took before and after pictures of the one with the most pitting. After I realized I had not I took pictures of the second worst one. Not the best in the world but I want them to function...not look pretty. Now they are as smooth as butter after re-greasing. The only down side to old tools is that new tools have more teeth and work better in tight spaces. I'm not a mechanic nor do I use tools for a living. Just my opinion.

Before and after pics of one ratchet. Look my initial post for the before on the other ratchets. Again, I want them to work. Not necessarily look pretty. Didn't have to buy any new parts for the ratchet. The one in the middle can be seen before cleaning in the pictures i posted above. It is the furthest one on the right in those pics.



Not my first rodeo though:

 

[Grits]

I think you may have a "lifetime" supply of ratchets. No need for you buying that Chinese crap that Lowe's sells.

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